1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the systems and methods described herein relate to providing benchmarking information regarding credit portfolios.
2. Description of the Related Art
Lending institutions provide credit accounts such as mortgages, automobile loans, credit card accounts, and the like, to consumers. In the credit industry, each credit account is known as a “trade.” Each consumer of credit may have one or multiple trades associated with him or her. For example, it is common for consumers to be associated with multiple trades at least because many consumers have multiple credit card accounts. In addition, many consumers have one or more mortgages, student loans, automobile loans, and other credit accounts.
Each lending institution focuses its credit offerings on particular geographical areas, account types, and market segments. Several national lending institutions exist that offer many account types to many market segments. Such national lending institutions include large national banks with branches in many cities that offer a wide variety of loans, including, for example, commercial loans, mortgages, home equity loans and lines of credit, and the like. Other lending institutions have a regional or local focus. Additionally, many lending institutions focus on particular account types. For example, some institutions primarily offer credit card accounts, while others offer primarily automobile loans, and the like. Additionally, many lending institutions focus on particular market segments, such as, for example, consumers with prime credit, consumers with subprime credit, and the like.
Accordingly, each lending institution offers its own unique mix of trades. Such a unique mix of trades can be known as a portfolio. Lending institutions typically desire to compare their portfolio with other portfolios in the industry. Lending institutions particularly desire to compare their portfolio with portfolios offered by their peer group, or other lending institutions that compete most directly with the lending institution. Conventional automated tools for assisting with such portfolio comparison or benchmarking, however, have been inadequate.